Saxilby to Lincoln
26th May 2022
Our journey today takes us from our tranquil moorings at Saxilby along the Fossdyke Navigation to the impressive City of Lincoln, just a little over six miles, which will take us about two hours.
The Fossdyke Navigation, believed to be built around AD 120 by the Romans to link the River Witham with the River Trent, making it the oldest canal in England that is still in use.
The sun seems be playing “hide and seek” today, providing us with brief glimpses of its celestial body, approximately 13 billion times brighter than the next brightest star, Sirius.
Refurbished in 1121, during the reign of King Henry I, the canal was used to transport the stone for the rebuilding of Lincoln Cathedral and later in 1744 the canal was once again bustling with sailing barges as Lincoln enjoyed prosperity from the wool trade.
Roman South Gate (Roman Trail. Visit Lincoln)
The Fossdyke Navigation is fairly straight, unlike the contour canals we love, providing a clear line of sight for what appears to be miles, similar to when we cruised The Bridgewater and The Birmingham New Line canals.
Lincoln, Roman Waterside (Lincoln a Place in Time. David Vale)
We reach a slight bend, known as “Fiddler’s Elbow”, then we pass Burton Waters Marina, with the usual boaters facilities, accommodating over 200 moorings.
The Pyewipe Inn (old English for Lapwing) with its whitewashed facade and grassy beer garden makes a welcome sight for any passing boat.
Which makes it all the more surprising we didn’t stop for a quick pint.
We did make up for it on our return journey by staying the whole night… 😊
We start to get the feeling we are beginning to enter the vicinity of Lincoln, as views of the magnificent Cathedral Gothic Towers. Like beacons set on the hillside, gesturing you to enter and explore its opulent and extravagant ambiance.
Cruising past a long line of moored boats, the navigation soon dramatically widens, overlooked by the university, the vast expanse of water is known as Brayford Pool.
We quickly moored up and de-moored even quicker when we were told there would be a charge (we are pensioners, you know).
In the last blog we met two cyclists eating fish & chips, after telling us how good the food was, they mentioned a pub right by the canal. They were right about the F&C’s so we thought we would check out their other recommendation.
By James Wilson Carmichael - http://www.magnoliabox.com/art
Brayford Pool, thought to be England's oldest Inland Harbour, is a natural lake formed from a widening of the River Witham, once used as a port by the Romans.
Today, Brayford Pool is home to hotels, restaurants, bars and other entertainment venues, some of which give the appearance they are floating on water. Once through, we cruised under a bridge where the navigation significantly narrowed as we made our way further into the heart of old Lincoln.
We cruised under an ancient half-timbered building astride the navigation believed to be the oldest bridge in the United Kingdom which still has buildings on it. Built about 1160 AD, High Bridge carries the High Street across the River Witham in Lincoln, like London Bridge these were common in the Middle Ages but unfortunately most have been demolished because of their obstruction to the river flow and shipping.
WE like the name The Glory Hole which is the name given by generations of boaters.
Its narrow and crooked arch sets a limit on the size of boats using the Witham and going from Brayford Pool to Boston.
Our moorings were literally a few hundred yards further on from The Glory Hole , right outside the pub the two fellows in Saxilby recommended. 😊 and yes they were correct again, it is a great pub. In fact on one occasion we met one of them in the pub, we did thank them for their recommendations but like the fish & chips we didn’t share our beers 😊.
